How do I make sure my answers are not lost when taking a test or quiz?

The internet (and the world of computers in general) is not always completely stable. Dropped connections, power outages, signal degradation, browser crashes, and even server maintenance can all occur while you are performing a time sensitive activity.

Here are a few simple precautions that you can take in order to greatly improve your chances of recovering, should you encounter an issue.

Always give yourself plenty of time.

As with so many things, if you wait to the last minute, you don't always have enough time to recover should something go wrong. The single best thing you can do in order to protect yourself against a possible issue while working on time sensitive material online is to allow for the possibility that something could go wrong and give yourself plenty of time.

Don't start a quiz a couple of hours before the deadline, or on a Sunday night when it is due on Monday, as there simply won't be enough time to get an issue corrected, should something happen.

Likewise, make certain you have given yourself a large enough block of time to actually complete the test. If the exam is expected to take an hour to complete, give yourself two hours, just to be safe.

Use a secure and reliable connection.

Try to use the most reliable connection possible. A wired connection, for instance, is generally more reliable than a wireless connection.

Save often.

No matter which Learning Management System you are using, there will always be an option to save your progress. Just as you would when writing a large paper or working on a large multi-media project, make sure to save after any major addition.

Document your answers somewhere else.

This is especially true when working on written tests. Copy and paste your answers into a word processing document or even compose your answers there first and then copy and paste them into your exam.